Florida judge puts gay weddings on hold
MIAMI -- A Florida Keys judge who last week ruled the state's ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional refused Monday to allow gay couples to begin marrying in Monroe County, citing a pending appeal by the state attorney general.
Monroe County Circuit Judge Luis Garcia rejected a motion to allow immediate weddings filed by attorneys for Aaron Huntsman and William Lee Jones, a pair of Key West bartenders whose lawsuit successfully challenged the ban. Garcia ruled last week that the ban on same-sex marriage added to the state constitution by Florida voters in 2008 is discriminatory and violates gay people's right to equal treatment under the law.
Garcia initially ruled marriage licenses could be issued in Monroe County beginning today to gay couples. But that was blocked by an automatic stay triggered when Republican Attorney General Pam Bondi filed notice that the state will appeal.
Currently, 19 states and the District of Columbia permit same-sex marriages, with the remaining state bans all facing legal challenges seeking to overturn them. On Monday, Georgia's attorney general asked a judge to dismiss a federal lawsuit filed by the gay-rights group Lambda Legal challenging the state's ban.
Cooler weather aids wildfire fight
SPOKANE, Wash. -- Calmer winds and lower temperatures were allowing firefighters to go on the offensive Monday against a destructive wildfire that has charred hundreds of square miles of terrain in Washington state.
The Carlton Complex fires in north-central Washington had burned about 379 square miles, fire spokesman Andrew Sanbri said Monday.
The fire was just 2 percent contained Monday.
Firefighters planned to aggressively protect some houses near Libby Creek on Monday, by keeping the flames from jumping the waterway, Sanbri said. Okanogan County Sheriff Frank Rogers estimates that 150 homes have been destroyed already, but he said he suspects that number could be higher. The fire is being blamed for one death.
The forecast for Monday and today called for lighter winds and lower temperatures, said Spokane-based National Weather Service meteorologist Greg Koch.
Hospital to pay gynecologist's victims
BALTIMORE -- A gynecologist who used tiny cameras to secretly record videos and photos of his patients has forced one of the world's top medical centers to pay $190 million to 8,000 women and girls, lawyers said Monday.
Dr. Nikita Levy was fired after 25 years with the Johns Hopkins Health System in Baltimore in February 2013 after a female co-worker spotted the penlike camera he wore around his neck and alerted authorities.
Levy committed suicide days later, as a federal investigation led to roughly 1,200 videos and 140 images stored on computers in his home.
The preliminary settlement approved by a judge Monday is one of the largest on record in the U.S. involving sexual misconduct by a physician.
Plaintiffs' attorney Howard Janet said 62 girls were among the victims and that Levy violated hospital protocol by sending chaperones out of the exam room.
Hopkins said insurance will cover the settlement, which "properly balances the concerns of thousands of plaintiffs with obligations the Health System has to provide ongoing and superior care to the community."
Bail $5 million for 3 charged with murder
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Three Albuquerque teenagers accused of fatally beating two homeless men beyond recognition were ordered held in lieu of $5 million bonds Monday.
Police said they are also investigating claims by one of the teens that the three had been terrorizing transients around Albuquerque for months.
Prosecutors requested $1 million bail for each of the three during initial appearances Monday, but Metropolitan Court Judge Linda Rogers set bail at $5 million. She cited the gravity of the reported crimes and the suspects' potential to flee.
The teens, aged 15, 16 and 18, have been charged with open counts of murder. Police said they expect the younger suspects to be charged as adults in the Friday night killings.
A Section on 07/22/2014